


The Job

by Th3_Morrigan



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Angst, Bartender Desmond, F/M, Hurt, Relationship(s), Templar!Reader, pre-AC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 08:24:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7837501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Th3_Morrigan/pseuds/Th3_Morrigan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Desmond, indeed, was a find. He was that kind of guy you wanted to hang on to for the rest of your life. He was perfect.</p><p>And that made you feel all the more miserable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Job

_"Harry, I think I found the one."_

_"The one what?"_

_"The one girl, Harry. The one I want to spend the rest of my life with."_

_Harry laughs. "Are you sure about that? Who is this girl? Why have you never brought her around here?"_

_"I met her a couple of months ago. She works at the coffee shop near my place. We hit it off from the start. Harry, it was like love at first sight."_

_"I thought you didn't believe in that shit?"_

_"I know. I know. It's weird. We have the opposite taste in music and movies and all that, but she makes me appreciate the things she likes, things I would never think I'd like. You ever get that?"_

_"Not yet. Are you sure you aren't, you know," Harry makes whipping motions._

_I laugh. "No, Harry, I'm not. It's not like that at all."_

_I take a sip of the whiskey Harry had offered me. It was hard to explain to him how Jane made me feel. I know it was cheesy, and I would never ever say this out loud to anyone, but she completed me. She made me see things I didn't see. Made me open my mind to things I would otherwise object to. I actually now know what that means when someone 'completes' you. It was a feeling like no other. "Maybe I will bring her by one of these days. You should meet her. Then you'll see what I mean."_

_"Alright, Desmond. But, remember, not on weekends. We're always full on weekends."_

_"Yeah, yeah. The nightclub depends on my abilities to furnish the thirsty masses with alcohol."_

_Harry laughs and gives me a pat on the back._

_"Atta boy. Finish up that drink and go get some rest." Ernie will lock up tonight."_

_"Sure. See you later, man." I finish up my drink and head out. Maybe I would stop by to see Jane on my way home._

***

Your shift started at six at the coffee shop. You liked to work the early morning. There were less weirdos around this time. Just regular folk on their way to work, wanting to grab their cup of joe before facing the new day.

And, of course, there was Desmond.

He usually came to the coffee shop after his job at the bar. This was where you two had met those months ago. You were new, he was a regular. He came by to order his macchiato, you batted your eyes at him and made small talk. Somehow he was smitten, and the rest was history.

You hit it off with Desmond right from the start. You found it easy to hold conversations with him. Whether you talked about reality shows or politics, video games or philosophy, it was always engaging.

The week after you first met, he started asking you out to dinner. Unlike the guys you dated before, he wasn't the type who took you out just to impress you or get into your pants. He genuinely just wanted to spend time with you. Dates were nothing fancy. Just a nice place with good food, a long walk, lots of good conversation, maybe a movie at his place. And, of course, good sex followed soon after.

Desmond, indeed, was a find. He was that kind of guy you wanted to hang on to for the rest of your life. He was perfect.

And that made you feel all the more miserable.

Every day you wished you didn't have your other job. You wished you really were just plain old Jane who worked at the coffee shop down the street. You wished this life - Jane's life - was your real life. But it wasn't. You didn't live in the tiny apartment building next to Desmond's. This coffee shop job was just a stint, a cover. Your real name wasn't even Jane.

You knew who Desmond Miles really was. You knew what he ran away from. You wished you could do the same, but you were too invested and too involved already. If he knew what you were and who you worked for, he'd probably kill you.

Speaking of the devil, your boss - you real boss - walked into the coffee shop. Protocol called for discretion, so whatever it was he needed to tell you was probably important. He didn't like showing up too often around where his agents worked, but the place was empty at this hour, save for an elderly patron in the back booth enjoying his morning coffee.

"Can I get you anything, Daniel?"

Daniel Cross was a Master Templar, and your Mentor. It was a privilege to be on his team, more so that he trusted you to be in his inner circle. But, despite that, the man still kind of scared you.

"Double espresso," he said, slapping a fifty on the counter. In a lower voice, he said conversationally, "You got a date tonight?"

"Not that I know of," you replied as you puttered around behind the counter making his coffee.

"Well, make one."

"Why?"

"Rikkin wants him."

Your head whipped around. "Rikkin?" Rikkin was the big boss. If he was getting involved, the shit just got real serious.

"He's up Vidic's ass, now Vidic's up mine. We're grabbing him tonight."

You approached Daniel. "What about all the data we're supposed to...I mean we aren't even sure-"

Daniel held up his hand. "Rikkin doesn't care about that anymore. He has Ardant's info, and that's enough for him. All he cares about is sticking him in the Animus and getting things rolling."

"And if he's not what they're looking for?" There was a knot in your stomach. You of all people knew the answer to that question.

"Then say goodbye to your boyfriend," Daniel grinned. "Now hurry up with my coffee."

It was a relief to have see him leave. You sighed, burying your face in your hands. It was going down tonight. The knot in your stomach got tighter. You had been on countless missions before this. You've had your share of violence, and it never fazed you. This was merely an abduction, but you were nervous as hell already.

Just then, your ray of sunshine walked in the coffee shop. There was Desmond, all smiles. For the moment, your troubles went away.

"Hey, babe," he said and gave you a kiss over the counter. "You look terrible. You okay?" He pressed the palm of his hand to your cheek, and you suddenly just wanted to cry.

"I'm fine." Your smile was weak, and you knew it. You turned around and busied yourself with his coffee at the back counter, hoping to hide your worry from him. "Just got up on the wrong side of the bed."

Making his coffee gave you time to compose yourself. You turned to face him again, and placed his drink on the counter before him. _Just get on with it then_ , you said to yourself. "How bout you take me out tonight? It would make me feel better." You tilted your head just the way you know he couldn't resist.

"Mmm, tonight? I don't know." He was playing coy. "I was thinking maybe I'd try out my new game..."

"You suck, Desmond," you said slapping his arm playfully.

He caught your arm and pulled you close. "No," he said, his voice going low and sultry. "Last time I remember, you sucked Desmond." He had his devilish smile on, and oh my god, how could you go through with this with him being this way?

He pulled you in for another kiss, and you obliged. How could you not? These were probably your last hours with him. You grabbed his collar to deepen the kiss. It was long and slow, your tongues doing their sensual dance. It left you both breathless.

"Well," he said after pulling away. "You've certainly convinced me to take you out tonight."

"Pick me up at seven?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he said, giving you one last kiss before paying for his coffee and heading home.

***

He arrived at a quarter to seven. He was always early. He had on the white hoodie with the red trim that you bought for him. You insisted on getting it because he looked so damn good in it.

He looked even better tonight. Maybe it was your nerves talking. You just stood there looking at him, debating with yourself whether you should go through with this or just fuck it all and run away with him. He misinterprets your hesitation for something else.

"So you wanna go, or did you really just want to stay in?" His smile is mischievous and it gives you that good kind of knot in your stomach. He moves closer to you and slips his arms around you. You match his sly smile, hoping he can't see through it to the turmoil you feel inside.

"You know, that's not such a bad idea," you say as you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him into your apartment before tugging him closer into a kiss. You might not be able to stop them from taking him but you certainly can stall it.

Once the door shuts behind you, things get really hot really fast. You and Desmond leave a trail of clothing from the front door to the bedroom. Sex wih Desmond had always been great. Even that awkward first time with him turned out to be on the top three of your list of best orgasms ever. This being your last night with him, you wanted it to be the best of the best.

You took the lead and slowed it down once both of your naked bodies hit the bed. You did everything you knew he liked, tasting him, teasing him, kissing him in areas you knew would drive him up the wall with pleasure. He reciprocated, touching and teasing you in ways only he knew how. By the end of your foreplay, both of you were so frantically close to orgasm.

"Together," Desmond whispers shakily as he gets on top of you and eases himself inside you. Both your hips move together and part in a steady rhythm. The sensation builds up and the pace quickens until both of you start to move sporadically, hips pumping of their own accord until you both reach climax.

***

You're both still in bed. The clock on the night stand says its 9:15 pm. There's a nagging sensation in your head that's telling you to get a move on. You know you need to. Daniel is waiting.

But you couldn't move. Or, rather, you didn't want to.

Desmond planted soft kisses on you as he held you tightly in his arms, proclaiming his love for you in sweet whispers. If you had your way, you would stay like this forever.

"You know I love you, right?" He kisses your forehead and your hair.

You bury your face in his chest. You want to say you love him too, but it doesn't come out. You just nod in response.

"That made me hungry." He was nuzzling your hair. "You want me to call for takeout?"

That was a great idea but- "No. Let's go out. There's this new place I want to try."

He groans as you try to move away from him. He grabs for you and holds you tighter. "But I like it here." He was nuzzling your neck this time, biting and licking at it. "Maybe I should just have you for dinner."

"We can always have dessert again later."

He smiles against your neck. "I like the way you think."

He finally lets you go, and both of you get ready.

The both of you walk out of your apartment building, arm in arm. He knew you never really liked getting on his motorcycle, so he agreed to walk the few blocks. The restaurant you mentioned was this new hole-in-the wall setup you were hearing so much about. People claimed they had the best ribs in town. On any given day, you would have been drooling with anticipation, but today your appetite seemed to have left you. It was just as well because you knew you weren't gonna make it there at all. There was a side street you had to pass to get there from your place. That was where they would be waiting.

It was so much easier to have grabbed Desmond from his or your apartment, but you knew Daniel was so anal about witnesses. He chose the route you would lead Desmond to. People rarely used that side street at night. It was he perfect place.

The closer you got, the more you just wanted to make a run for it with Desmond. But you knew it would be no use. You might be able to get away tonight, but Abstergo had a way of finding people. They also didn't take kindly to dissidents. Eventually, they would still get Desmond, and you would most probably wind up dead in a ditch in some godforsaken place.

It was too late to do anything anyhow. You were turning into the side street. There were a few parked cars along the way, but there was no one about.

Desmond was going on about his boss, Henry. He was saying something about meeting him. You were only half listening to him, your responses were instinctively automatic. Your mind was elsewhere, anticipating the attack.

You walked a few paces when you felt a tug at your arm. You hadn't noticed Desmond had stopped walking.

"What is it?" _Oh god, did he suspect something?_

"I said can I ask you something?" His face was serious.

"Sure."

He was fidgeting with something in his pocket. "I was gonna wait, but I think this is the perfect place." He took out a small box.

You suddenly felt cold. _No, Desmond, don't._

"I mean, if you say no, at least no one will see." He opened the box and got down on one knee. "Jane, will you marry me?"

Your tears came unbidden. You couldn't help it. Despite the happiness brought on by seeing Desmond down on one knee in front of you, asking for your hand in marriage, it hurt just as much knowing it wouldn't come to pass even if you said yes.

You just stood there, waiting for them to take him already. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Daniel in the shadows. He was actually waiting for you to say something, the prick.

With a heavy heart, you tried to smile. "Yes, Desmond, I will."

Desmond was beside himself with joy, which was probably why he didn't notice the men closing in on him from behind. He was still on his knee when one of them put a sack over his head and Daniel delivered the blow that knocked him out.

"That couldn't have gone better," Daniel picked up the box with the ring and handed it to you. "Congratulations! Pretty decent-sized rock for a bartender's salary. He must have really loved you. Good job."

"Fuck you, Daniel." Without thinking, you struck him. Your fist connected squarely with his jaw, sending him back few steps.

He wasn't expecting that. He glowered at you as he rubbed his jaw. "Didn't you ever learn not to mix business with pleasure?"

A van had pulled up next to you and He signaled for the others to get Desmond in the back. He shoved you in as well. "I'll see you at the airport," he said, and slammed the door shut.

***

_She's dead. I know she's dead. These bastards killed her. I heard her screaming. I don't know what they were doing to her, but I know whatever it was, she didn't deserve it. Somehow I think all this is my fault._

_Who are these people anyway? No one has said a word to me since I woke up. I know they're there. I can hear them walking around me. I've been screaming my head off trying my best to rile them up, to get them to just fucking say something, but so far I haven' t gotten a word out of anyone._

_Hers was the only voice I heard, screaming my name and saying she was sorry...but what was she sorry for?_

_That had been a while ago. Now there was just silence, and a deep humming sound, that could have been air conditioning, or an engine. And their footsteps moving around me from time to time._

_I don't even know how long I've been strapped to this chair with this bag over my head. It feels like it's been days. My throat is raw from screaming. My hands are tied behind my back, and my body aches from being in this position for so long._

_I hear footsteps coming up to me again. They stop close in front of me. There was a creak of a chair as a body sits down in it._

_"Who are you people?" I didn't scream this time. I felt spent. I wasn't even expecting an answer anymore. "What do you want from me? What did you do to Jane?"_

_There was a snicker. "Jane?" It was a man's voice. "We took care of her."_

_I stiffened and cocked my head toward the sound of his voice._

_"I'm as sad as you to see her go. She was one of us, one of my best. Then you got in the way."_

_"What's that supposed to mean? Who the fuck are you people?"_

_Silence, then the creaking of a chair as he stands up and walked away._

_***_

_Daniel returns to the room where he left her. She's strapped a machine that looks like the animus, but isn't. She knew what it was, and it was a struggle getting her into it. She put up a hell of a fight and nearly killed one of their men before they finally sedated her and put her in._

_The mindwipe machine was one of Dr. Gramatica's pet projects. They've only used it once before. Their subject had died of a gunshot wound when he tried to escape the facility, so they didn't know if the 'treatment' had any adverse effects. They would know soon enough._

_"How much longer is this going to take?" he asked the man operating the machine._

_"I'm not sure, but it'll certainly be done before we reach Italy. There's a lot of memory to clean up. This isn't nearly as easy as Gramatica said it would be."_

_"And she won't remember Desmond at all?"_

_"She'll have vague memories of a relationship, but other than that, she shouldn't. Although, I must warn you, her memories of Desmond are linked with us."_

_Daniel raised an eyebrow. "So what does that mean?"_

_"There's a very big chance she won't remember us either. There's a big chance that when she wakes up she'll just be plain old Jane Smith. We really have to let her go, Daniel."_

_He was afraid this would happen. He sighed. There was nothing he could do about that. "Just make it happen."_

_"Oh, I almost forgot. There's something else."_

_"What?"_

_"I took a blood test, just SOP. Apparently, she's pregnant."_

***

Epilouge:

2015

"Isabel! What brings you here?" Dr. Gramatica tried to sound happy to see her because she absolutely loathed it when he was chipper. He took any chance he could get to piss Isabelle Ardant off.

"I came to gloat, actually. Look at this data." Isabel handed the doctor a file. She had a smug look on her face Gramatica wished he could slap off her.

He opened it and gasped. "A Sage!" His irritation forgotten, he read the file.

"It gets better. Check out his patrilineal line."

"Let's see..." he flipped excitedly through the file, "Patrilineal line: 19th century American midwest, 18th century American Revolutuon, 16th century Ottoman Empire, 15th century Italian Renaissance...oh my god!" He looked at Isabel, eyes wide. She was smiling. "You don't mean...?"

"Yeah. The best part? His mother just walked him in to one of your new clinics in New York City."

Dr. Gramatica felt like Christmas had come early. "I'd really like to strip him for parts like we did with Subject 17."

"Oh no you don't," Isabel said, snatching the file back from him. "You had your chance with the shroud. This asset is mine, and I wont be a party to the needless mutilation of a little boy. It's inhumane."

"So what would you plan to do with him?" Trust Isabel to ruin the moment.

"Given his unique lineage, I think we should put him in an Animus for the next 50 years. Think of the data we could extract."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "That's terribly old-fashioned. In any case, we should send Sigma Team to recover him."

He started to pick up the phone. She beat him to it, holding it down.

"No. I'm going to keep an eye on him for now. We'll collect him when the time is right."

They stared each other down. Gramatica knew he was right. The boy would be more useful to his research in pieces. On the other hand, he knew most of the others in the Inner Sanctum wouldn't agree with him, especially when Isabelle started to pitch her Helix Project again. He decided to let her have her way.

For now.

He removed his hand from the phone.

She smiled. "Thank you."

She turned to leave, but Dr. Grammatica called out to her. "What is his mother's name?"

"Jane," she said over her shoulder on her way out the door. "Jane Smith."

**Author's Note:**

> In canon, Desmond Miles' son is 10 when he is discovered by Abstergo in New York in 2015. But for the intent of this story he is three, since Desmond was abducted in 2012, and because I say so. :D
> 
> Dialogue from the epilogue taken from AC Syndicate (Reconstructed Data #010), for those who are not familiar. I haven't gotten to that part yet myself, but it's there.


End file.
